Suspected bomb at Plymouth resort turns out to be Pabst Blue Ribbon advertisement

False alarm a sign of post-Sept. 11 times, manager says

False alarm a sign of post-Sept. 11 times, manager says

June 19, 2006|By MIKE GILLOON Tribune Staff Writer

PLYMOUTH Â? A suspicious object that turned out to be a flashing red light on a beer advertisement forced the evacuation of a Plymouth resort hotel early Monday morning.

Doug Leedke, general manager of Swan Lake Resort, said about 30-40 guests were evacuated about 12:45 a.m. Monday after a bartender in the hotelÂ?s restaurant noticed a blinking red light on a white object on the wall and suspected it might be a bomb.

A Marshall County SheriffÂ?s officer later determined the light was part of a Pabst Blue Ribbon advertisement suction-cupped to the restaurantÂ?s window.

Detective lieutenant Jon Van Vactor of the Marshall County SheriffÂ?s Department said officers were first called to the resortÂ?s Sam SneadÂ?s restaurant, 5203 Plymouth-LaPorte Trail, at 12:39 a.m. and determined that no bomb squad was needed by 12:56 a.m.

Leedke said hotel guests were allowed back in their rooms by 1:30 a.m.

The false alarm is a sign of the times in a post-Sept. 11 world, Leedke said.